Panty girdle

ABSTRACT

This improved panty girdle comprises a pair of leg forming components which define the skeletal structure of the girdle. The components each comprise a band of material having one end turned and closed upon the band to form a &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;d&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; and a &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;b&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; shaped configuration. The looped portions of the bands are joined together to form a conformable and comfortable crotch region, with the tail pieces of the components extending generally diagonally upwardly at places on the waistband located in juxtaposed relationship to the bony protuberance of the hip bone. A central control panel is inserted between the upwardly extending tail pieces, and a back panel completes the garment with frontally extending portions. The leg forming elements are made of stretch yarn and the remaining portion of the girdle is formed of two way stretch material. A balance of control is achieved between the stretch yarn band and its anchoring arrangement along with the stretch characteristics of the main body of the girdle.

United States Patent [1 1 Di Tullio [451 Mar. 19, 1974 PANTY GIRDLEFlavia Di Tullio, New York, NY.

[73] Assignee: Munsingwear, Inc., Minneapolis, Minn.

[22] Filed: Dec. 26, 1972 [21] App]. No.: 317,934

[75] Inventor:

[52] US. Cl. 128/528, 2/224 A [51] Int. Cl. A41c 1/02 [58] Field ofSearch 128/518, 524,528, 531,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,499,442 3/1970 Steinmetz128/528 x FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,395,893 3/1965 France 2/224A 779.461 7/1957 Great Britain 128/528 Primary Examiner-Werner H.Schroeder Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Flam & Flam 5 7] ABSTRACT Thisimproved panty girdle comprises a pair of leg forming components whichdefine the skeletal structure of the girdle. The components eachcomprise a band of material having one end turned and closed upgntheband to form a d and a b shaped configuration. The looped portions ofthe bands are joined together to form a conformable and comfortablecrotch region, with the tail pieces of the components extendinggenerally diagonally upwardly at places on the waistband located injuxtaposed relationship to the bony protuberance of the hip bone. Acentral control panel is inserted between the upwardly extending tailpieces, and aback panel completes the garment with frontally extendingportions. The leg forming elements are made of stretch yarn and theremaining portion of the girdle is formed of two way stretch material. Abalance of control is achieved between the stretch yarn band and itsanchoring arrangement along with the stretch characteristics of the mainbody of the girdle.

6 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures sir-97501 PATENIEDIIIIS B74 SHEET 1 0F 2PATENTEDIAVR 19 m4 SHEET 2 [1F 2 PANTY GIRDLE RELATED APPLICATION Thisinvention is also the subject of design patent application Ser. No.297960, filed on Oct. 16, 1972.

FIELD OF INVENTION This invention relates to panty girdles, andparticularly to panty girdles of the type utilizing bands of stretchyarn located adjacent or defining the leg openings. Such use of stretchmaterials has been popular in order to eliminate the tendency of the legparts of the girdle from riding upwardly or the tendency of thewaistband to pull downwardly when a longitudinal stress is imposed uponthe girdle by walking, bending or sitting.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION United States Pat. No. 3,554,200 toConcetta L. Cuozzi discloses a girdle structure in which a band ofstretch yarn material conveniently forms not only the leg openings, butalso a conformable and comfortable crotch structure. The Cuozzistructure makes-possible a very simple cutting pattern and makespossible simple sewing operations. Yet the figure control achieved bythe Cuozzi girdle is general, and not defined.

The primary object of this invention is to improve upon the Cuozzigirdle by utilizing the bands of stretch yarn in a novel way so thatthey form not only the leg openings but also longitudinal controlmembers. A companion object of this invention is to achieve thisfunction without materially complicating either the cutting pattern orthe required sewing operations.

The foregoing objects are accomplished by forming the leg openingsobliquely so thatthe sides of the leg opening at the crotch can beextended diagonally upwardly to the waistband. A V-shaped control panelfits between the upwardly extending ends of the respective leg pieces. Aunique balance of control is achieved by the diagonally extendingstretch bands, since the bands yield only slightly in the longitudinaldirection, but yield far more easily in the transverse direction.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A detailed description of theinvention will be made with reference to the accompanying drawingswherein like numerals designate corresponding parts in the severalfigures. These drawings are to scale.

FIG. 1 is a pictorial view of the front of the girdle shown in place onthe body of the wearer.

FIG. 2 is a pictorial view showing the back and side of the girdle, thegirdle in place upon the body of the wearer.

FIG. 3 is a frontelevational view of the girdle as it lies flat.

FIG. 4 is a rear elevational view of the girdle as it lies flat.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along a plane correspondingto line 55 of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The following detailed description is of the bestpresently contemplated mode of carrying out the invention. Thisdescription is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merelyfor the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the inventionsince the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.

The girdle 10 comprises three parts: a back panel 12, a front controlpanel 14 and a combined crotch and leg band 16. The band 16 forms theskeletal structure of the entire garment.

The band 16 is made of conventional stretch yarn material that exhibitsa high degree of transverse flexibility and a high degree oflongitudinal elasticity and resilience. Thus a significant amount offorce is required to produce a unit of longitudinal stretch, but only aslight force is required to produce a unit of transverse elongation.

The band 16 (FIG. 3) may be made from one piece of material with partiallongitudinal cuts extending inwardly from both ends. One out formsopposed edges 18 and 20 and the other out forms opposed edges 22 and 24.The inner ends of the respective cuts are spaced from each other to forma crotch region 26 free of stitching. The cuts form left and right legcomponents L and R. Optionally, the components can be formed as twoseparate bands joined together by overcast or other suitable stitchingat the crotch region.

Each of the leg components has one end L, or R, turned to form a loopwith the legcomponent itself, leaving a tail piece L, or R,. The ends Land R,.extend substantially at right angles to the tail pieces L, andR,.

The closed loops formed by the ends define leg openings of the garments.The tail pieces L, and R, diverge from the crotch region, the anglebetween these pieces being chosen so that the upper ends of the tailpieces generally overlie the frontal protuberance of the hip bone. It isat this region that the thickness of flesh is generally small;consequently, firm anchor points to the skeletal structure areestablished for the tail pieces R, and L,. The V-shaped frontal controlpanel 14 is in serted between the leg components and suitably sewn inplace as by overcast stitching 30 (FIG. 5). The central control panel ismade of suitable two way stretch material such as elastic net commonlyknown as power net.

The central control panel 14 may include any variety of stiffeningmaterials for imparting abdominal control. In the present instance, thestiffening material comprises a triangular insert 32 also made of powernet material whereby increased stiffening is imparted.

Theback panel 12 may be made in two pieces, a left back panel and aright back panel. sewn together along the rear buttocks cleavage line asat 34 (FIG. 4). The back panel has lower edges sewn to the leg bandcomponents. The upper edges of the back panel are formed to provide awaistband in conjunction with the top edge of the panel 14. It ispreferably made of two way stretch material similar to that of thefrontal panel 14.

The waistband of the girdle may, if desired, be reinforced by a softpile band sewn on the inside of the girdle.

The tail pieces R, and L, form firm control members, anchored as theyare at the hipbone protuberances at their upper ends. The lateralflexibility of the band components provides a highly satisfactorybalance of girdle control in combination with the anchored tail piecesL, and R,.

Intending to claim all novel, useful and unobvious features shown ordescribed, I make the following claims:

1. In a panty girdle: a pair of leg forming components, each. of thecomponents comprising a band of material having one end turned to closeupon the band forming a leg loop and leaving a tail piece at the otherend; said leg forming components being joined together at the loops toform a crotch region; said tail pieces extending diagonally outwardlyand upwardly to the waistband and generally to,the region of the hipbone protuberances respectively; a control panel sewn between the tailpieces and extending to the crotch region; and a back panel extendingaround the back of the girdle and having side portions extendingfrontally and terminating at the outside of said tail pieces.

2. The panty girdle as set forth in claim 1 in which said end abuts theintermediate portion of said leg forming components substantially atright angles and is joined thereto by a line of stitching whereby nothickness is added to the garment.

3. The panty girdle as set forth in claim 1 in which said leg formingcomponents are formed of material having the characteristics of stretchyarn, namely high flexibility in the transverse direction with littleresilience, and high elasticity and resilience in the longitudinaldirection whereby a balance of control is achieved.

4. The panty girdle as set forth in claim 3 in which said control paneland said back panel are made of material having the characteristics ofplastic netting.

5. The combination as set forth in claim 4 in which said end abuts theintermediate portion of said leg forming component substantially atright angles and is joined thereto by a line of stitching whereby nothickness is added to the garment.

6. The combination as set forth in claim 5 in which said central controlpanel is provided with reinforcing means to add a degree of stiffness.

1. In a panty girdle: a pair of leg forming components, each of thecomponents comprising a band of material having oNe end turned to closeupon the band forming a leg loop and leaving a tail piece at the otherend; said leg forming components being joined together at the loops toform a crotch region; said tail pieces extending diagonally outwardlyand upwardly to the waistband and generally to the region of the hipbone protuberances respectively; a control panel sewn between the tailpieces and extending to the crotch region; and a back panel extendingaround the back of the girdle and having side portions extendingfrontally and terminating at the outside of said tail pieces.
 2. Thepanty girdle as set forth in claim 1 in which said end abuts theintermediate portion of said leg forming components substantially atright angles and is joined thereto by a line of stitching whereby nothickness is added to the garment.
 3. The panty girdle as set forth inclaim 1 in which said leg forming components are formed of materialhaving the characteristics of stretch yarn, namely high flexibility inthe transverse direction with little resilience, and high elasticity andresilience in the longitudinal direction whereby a balance of control isachieved.
 4. The panty girdle as set forth in claim 3 in which saidcontrol panel and said back panel are made of material having thecharacteristics of plastic netting.
 5. The combination as set forth inclaim 4 in which said end abuts the intermediate portion of said legforming component substantially at right angles and is joined thereto bya line of stitching whereby no thickness is added to the garment.
 6. Thecombination as set forth in claim 5 in which said central control panelis provided with reinforcing means to add a degree of stiffness.